Before the invention of artificial turf in the 1950s, natural grass was essentially the only way to create a playing field or landscape a park. Natural grass can be difficult to maintain, particularly in intemperate climates, and requires maintenance. In 1966, Astroturf was first installed in a professional sports complex in the Texas Astrodome and provided a year-round green playing field that did not need watering or aerating, and had none of natural grass's problems with insects or rodents.
Initially, artificial turf environments were little more than a synthetic carpet laid over concrete. Unlike natural grass, rainwater had no where to go. It would pool on top of the fabric, creating an unplayable surface. To address the problem outdoor fields were crowned so that the water would run off to the sides where it could then be managed by traditional drainage techniques. As artificial turf systems evolved, improvements were made in the safety and playability of the field as well as its drainage capabilities. Addition of drainage holes throughout the synthetic turf material and underlying base allowed the fields to be constructed flat and made them playable in any weather condition. These drainage capabilities also led to numerous drainage solutions under the field. Synthetic turf fields installed today have drainage systems installed under the field. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,114,877 to Wilkerson and 7,147,401 to Wickens discloses drainage systems comprised of perforated pipes under the field to direct water swiftly away from the surface, most often into a storm drain. Variations on these methods are now common practice. Conventional artificial turf surfaces, unlike natural grass, do not absorb water and are designed to drain swiftly. As a result, millions of gallons of water are directed into storm drains each year from just one conventional sports field. In regards to sustainability of what is quickly becoming a scarce resource, this practice is irresponsible.
Water conservation is becoming increasing important to society. Further, there is increasing societal focus on sustainable products and systems. With these goals in mind, rainwater harvesting is becoming increasingly important and utilized worldwide. However, rainwater harvesting faces major obstacles including finding a catchment surface that will produce a sufficiently large volume of uncontaminated water. With hardscape catchment surfaces, such as pavement, asphalt, and rooftops, rainwater must be directed to a collection point. A certain amount of water is lost through absorption and evaporation. Contamination of water while it is being collected and conveyed is also a problem. Accordingly, it is challenging to find a catchment surface that is sizeable enough to produce a significant yield, will minimize water absorption and/or evaporation, and will not introduce contaminates into the water.
Several attempts have been made to provide rainwater collection systems for parks and playgrounds, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,626,609 to Kotani et al., and 5,848,856 to Bohnhoff. However, these systems have not been entirely satisfactory and have not gained widespread commercial acceptance.